1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positioning hinge, and more particularly to a positioning hinge having multiple collars engaged with a bracket to which a computer body is securely mounted and a hinge pin to which a computer monitor is securely mounted. The multiple collars are configured to provide different friction forces to support the computer monitor with respect to the bracket, such that a suitable friction force is applied to support the monitor based on the weight of the monitor.
2. Description of Related Art
Positioning hinges generally provide a friction force to hold the monitor of a notebook computer at a desired angle. Different models and brands of notebook computers have different weights and sizes. To accommodate computers with different weights, different kinds of positioning hinges have been developed to solve manufacturers"" specific requirements. However, each positioning hinge design provides only one fixed friction force to hold a specific monitor with respect to the body of the notebook computer. Consequently, if the production line changes from one specification to another, all the related parts have to be changed accordingly. The manufacturer will have to pay for all the design, development and testing cost associated with a design change, even though the change may only involve a change in weight of a specific part. In other word, there is no part that is able to be used between different specifications of parts.
With reference to FIG. 14, a conventional positioning hinge is mainly composed of a positioning device (34) having an attachment arm (30) and a friction plate (32) and a cam (36) with a groove (38) defined to correspond to the friction plate (32). A spring (35) is secured between a positioning hinge pin (37) and the positioning device (34). With the foregoing structure, the manufacturer will have to use many different parts to assemble a positioning hinge to meet the friction force requirement to lift and hold the monitor.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an improved positioning hinge to mitigate and obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide a positioning hinge in which the friction force can be adapted to secure and hold the weight of a monitor when the monitor is opened. The positioning hinge in accordance with the present invention has a positioning hinge pin, a bracket, a spring securely held between the positioning hinge pin and the bracket and multiple collars engaged with a side of the bracket. The friction force between the bracket and the collars is able to be adapted to cope with the weight of the monitor so that when the monitor is opened, the monitor is held in position.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a positioning hinge that has less parts than the conventional positioning hinge as described in the background. Thus, the fabrication cost can be reduced.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.